Christmas Crafts to Make & Sell (2023)

I created this “trend” list a little differently than my other trend lists (e.g. this year’s craft trends).

This list is based on products that are commonly purchased for the holiday season either for gifts, decorating, or hosting. I’ve listed items that are showing high search volumes and appear to be on an upward trend heading into the 2023 holidays.

It’s not exhaustive as I’m unable to research every type of product people buy, but hopefully it sparks some ideas for your business.

>> You may also be interested in how consumers’ shopping behaviours are changing this year: 10 Ways to Avoid Losing Holiday Sales due to Inflation (2023)

 

Disclaimer

These are predictions based on keyword search volumes. 

No one can know for sure what will and won’t sell, but I am basing my list on numbers (i.e. search volumes), rather than best guesses. So I hope this insight is valuable to your craft business.

 

 

Barbiecore themed products

Because the movie “Barbie” was such a big hit this year, it’s likely the popular Barbie theme will carry into the holidays.

This trend can be applied to a wide variety of products.

I did notice “pink” was a popular color in a lot of Christmas related searches (e.g. pink Christmas wreath).

Remember, you can’t create “Barbie” products as Barbie is a brand that’s copyrighted (3 Big Legal Mistakes Crafters Make).

That means, you can’t use Barbie logos or symbols, use “Barbie” in your product titles, descriptions, tags, etc.

However, the colors and styles that are synonymous with Barbie can be applied to your products. 

For example, you may create a bright pink collection of products, use glittery finishes, create products Barbie might wear (e.g. knit leg warmers or pink heart shaped earrings), etc.

 

Personalized gifts

The keyword “personalized” gets a spike in searches leading up to the holidays every year. Consider if your products can be personalized for the holidays (and for an added cost).

Some of the top personalized products people are searching for the holidays are:

• Personalized Christmas ornaments
• Personalized blankets
• Personalized Christmas stockings
• Personalized golf balls
• Personalized mugs (as mentioned in this report, mugs are also a popular gift for the holidays)
• Personalized stationery
• Personalized cutting board
• Personalized necklace
• Personalized books

Personalization can be applied to a variety of products outside of the list above, such as “personalized necklace”.

 

Sustainable gifts

I believe more and more consumers are concerned about the environment and how much waste we’re producing.

However, search volume isn’t that high when it comes to Christmas and environmentally friendly, sustainable, eco-friendly, etc.

I still wanted to mention sustainability in this list because it does come up in several consumer trend reports and there is some demand.

Although there may not be high volumes of consumers searching for sustainable Christmas products yet, I do think eco-friendly is a benefit that persuades consumers to buy (e.g. if they see an ornament they love is sustainable, it’s a perk that makes them feel better about buying).

Some terms that are more popular on the sustainability list are:

• Sustainable Christmas gifts
• Sustainable Christmas tree
• Sustainable Christmas decorations
• Sustainable Christmas cards
• Sustainable Christmas wrapping

If there’s a way to make your products more environmentally friendly, I think that will align with many shoppers’ interests.

 

Food scents (bath & body/candles)

This candle scent trend report and several industry leaders point towards decadent food scents for the holidays.

For example, instead of gingerbread, you might add more depth to the scent and name, and create an “iced gingersnap” scented bath and body product as the report suggests.

Big brands such as Bath & Body Works are also keeping this trend going this year with holiday scents such as:

• Iced cinnamon roll
• Toasted vanilla chai
• Cookie butter truffle

Much less “vanilla” than your typical vanilla scent.

Brainstorm specific Christmas recipes and drinks to come up with your holiday scent collection.

 

Gift-giving Jewelry

There are jewelry trends for the year (which you can find here) and then there are certain types of jewelry that are not necessarily fashion trends, but are commonly purchased as holiday gifts.

Here are few specific items that see a spike in searches for the holidays, year after year.

*Necklaces and earrings tend to have higher search volumes than rings and bracelets.

• Snowflake earrings/necklace/ring/bracelet
• Heart earrings/necklace/ring/bracelet (search volume is indicating this will be more popular than past years)
• Charm bracelet
• Locket necklace (heart locket necklace is also popular)
• Diamond earrings/necklace/bracelet/ring (it appears to be significantly trending up this year)

Any type of jewelry makes a great gift, those are some of the more popular items searched for.

 

DIY & Crafts

Christmas crafts were on a lot of trend lists I came across. Consider creating kits so people can make your products instead of buying them in their finished state.

Even better, DIY kits that allow the purchaser to make an item they can give as a gift. “Christmas DIY gifts” is another popular search term. This survey suggests that “something homemade” is a type of gift people like to give for the holidays year after year.

 

Colorful Christmas decorations

“Pink Christmas decorations” and related products (e.g. pink Christmas tree, pink ornaments, etc.) has a high search volume. 

The search volume has been significantly increasing each year (for the past 3 years), and is likely to see a bigger spike this holiday season with the popularity of the movie Barbie.

Other notable colors related to Christmas decor that appeared in my keyword research were:

• Blue christmas decorations
• White Christmas decorations
• Black Christmas decorations
• Rose gold Christmas decorations

 

Location specific decorations

Some areas of the home consumers are showing an interest in decorating (based on search volume) are:

• Porch Christmas decorations/front porch Christmas decorations
• Staircase Christmas decorations
• Garage door Christmas decorations 
• Christmas console table decor is a “breakout” term in Google Trends
• Chimney Christmas decor also appeared in Google Trends
• Christmas table decorations – search volume for this term has increased every year for the past 7 years. Some of the specific table decor items that appear to be trending up this year are:
  • Christmas napkins
  • Christmas table centrepiece
  • Christmas table runner
  • Christmas candles

• Christmas mantel decor – searches for this product spiked last year, almost 8x higher than previous years. And the search volume so far is suggesting this product will be popular this year as well. “Farmhouse” and “rustic” were terms some consumers searched for, but there doesn’t seem to be a specific way people want to decorate their mantels, so inspire them.

 

Moment-focused Christmas ornaments

The following are popular niche terms consumers search when looking for Christmas ornaments:

• Baby’s first Christmas ornament
• First married Christmas ornament
• Cat Christmas ornament
• Custom/personalized Christmas ornament
• Engaged Christmas ornament

This list suggests consumers like commemorating important moments in their lives with Christmas ornaments. You may be able to come up with ideas based on your target market. E.g. cat’s/dog’s first Christmas ornament (even make it personalized), first home ornament, new job ornament, etc.

A couple of other specific ornament terms that have high search volumes are:

• Christmas ornament sets – curate a collection of ornaments for your customers so it’s less work for them.
• Christmas ornament storage – if you sew or are a woodworker, you could create keepsake boxes to store ornaments.

 

Christmas wreaths & garlands

When it comes to wreaths and garlands, the following features are popular in searches:

• Sizing – large, small, and mini appeared in my Christmas wreath keyword research.
• Lighting – for both wreaths and garlands there are several keywords related to lights such as: pre lit, with lights, led, battery operated, etc.
• Pink – the pink trend applies to wreaths and garlands.

 

Wrapping Paper

There aren’t many specifics people search for when it comes to wrapping paper, probably because most people grab a roll at the mall. But there were a few that stood out:

• Pink Christmas wrapping paper
• Vintage Christmas wrapping paper
• Black Christmas wrapping paper
• Funny Christmas wrapping paper
• Personalized Christmas wrapping paper
• Cute Christmas wrapping paper

Since many consumers are spending less on gifts this year they may want to make each gift feel a little more special through wrapping.

 

Christmas card holder

Search volume for “Christmas card holder” appears to be on an upward trajectory heading into the holidays.

There are many versions of this product so explore creative ways people can display the Christmas cards they’ve received.

 

Advent Calendars

Advent calendars aren’t just filled with chocolates these days. 

Last year, a promotional Red Bull Advent Calendar went viral. And lately I’ve noticed unique advent calendars, so it may be a trend that’s bigger in 2023. The search volume for them last year was higher than previous years.

Many businesses create an advent calendar filled with their products. For example, the one I came across was a craft beer advent calendar put together by a local brewery.

These types of advent calendars don’t typically have 24/25 different products/doors to open. They might have 12 (for the 12 days of Christmas), or one for each week in December leading up to Christmas. You can be creative with the number of days your advent calendar has.

You might create an advent calendar with your products or create a decorative box/container that people can add their own items to. 

Some unique types of advent calenders that showed up in my keyword research were:

• Wine advent calendar
• Makeup advent calendar
• Beauty advent calendar
• Advent calendar for men
• Dog advent calendar
• Beer advent calendar
• Skincare advent calendar

There were many brand specific advent calendar searches, which you obviously can’t create, but those popular searches suggest you can fill them with all kinds of products:

• lip balms
• fragrances
• soaps
• candles
• food or drink
• toys
• dog/cat toys or treats
• decorations
• nail polish
• makeup
• etc.

 

Chunky knits

This style of knit is still going strong. “Chunky knit” searches see a spike each Nov/Dec and the search volume appears to be heading higher than it was last year.

Commonly searched products are:

• Chunky knit blanket
• Chunky knit sweater
• Chunky knit cardigan
• Chunky knit throw
• Oversized chunky knit sweater

This product doesn’t necessarily fall under the chunky knit trend, but “winter hat with ear flaps” is near the top of the “winter hats” list and appears to be trending up when compared to last year’s search volumes.

 

Leg Warmers

This popular product search is likely related to the Barbiecore trend. Searches for leg warmers peak every Nov/Dec but search volumes suggest that there might be at least double the interest this year than there was last year.

Some terms that were higher in search volumes are:

• White leg warmers
• Crochet/knit leg warmers
• Fur/furry/fluffy leg warmers
• Black leg warmers
• Ballet leg warmers
• Dog leg warmers
• Pink leg warmers
• Thigh high leg warmers
• Denim leg warmers

 

Plaid

Plaid pattern is obviously popular for winter. The following terms appear to be more popular this year than last:

• Plaid pants
• Plaid shirts
• Plaid pajama pants
• Plaid skirt
• Plaid dress
• Plaid jacket
• Plaid blazer

Although search volumes weren’t nearly as high, items such as bags and scarves would likely be desirable to consumers too.

 

Christmas aprons

Searches for “Christmas apron” obviously spikes every Nov/Dec. 

Searches for specific types of Christmas aprons aren’t as popular (as “Christmas apron”), but these were the terms that have higher search volumes:

• Holiday aprons
• Christmas aprons for adults
• Santa apron
• Funny Christmas aprons
• Vintage Christmas apron
• Kids Christmas apron
• Personalized Christmas apron

 

Christmas pajamas

The search volume for “Christmas pajamas” suggests there may be more demand this year than last year. Some of the popular niche terms are:

• Matching Christmas pajamas
• Family Christmas pajamas
• Funny Christmas pajamas
• Christmas pajamas couples
• Dog Christmas pajamas

 

Coffee mugs

“Coffee mug” has a spike in searches every Nov/Dec. Christmas mugs are obviously popular this time of year, and below are a few niche terms that were on the list:

• Christmas tree mug
• Cute Christmas mugs
• Personalized Christmas mugs
• Kids Christmas mugs

 

Household essentials

This report suggests that consumers will continue to prioritize more “practical” gifts like household essentials. Self-care products are always popular this time of year and popped up on several gift-trend lists.

 

 

I’ll add to this list as more trends emerge and as there is more keyword search volume to analyze 🙂